Reverse engineer + Clean room design

[Crusoe]

So, I've been thinking for a while; what if we were able to reverse engineer Feral-Heart and we did a clean room implementation of it (Similar to ReactOS or Truecraft) on an updated version of OGRE? It technically wouldn't be infringing any copyrights associated. We could possibly even have a native Mac and Linux port plus have the possibility of getting new features into the game.

[Wyldercat]

This is interestin' fer a few reasons.

Well, though it technically wouldn't infringe upon copyright as a "similar" game with an updated engine and different concepts of gameplay; it would have to have a drastically different name, different models, maps, etc., or it may be called out for plagiarism, even if we still have the same staff. If pulled off correctly, this would make many people happy, as it would be clean, easily updatable, and would possibly have better Mac and Linux access. However, just as many people may be unhappy with this, as they might not want to leave their beloved FeralHeart behind.
One may argue, "why not just have both," however, runnin' a server of any kind is EXTREMELY demandin', difficult and taxin' to the person's computer. Not only would it b 2 games to manage, but unless we could find a volunteer to run a massively multiplayer game server for free, which would require a very expensive computer, and would restrict access to the person's computer while the server is running; I doubt that would be so easy. We're so incredibly lucky to have Raz, which is hopefully well acknowledged, and unless we shut down the original Feralheart, it would be near impossible to run both.

There would also be the issue of forums. The game would require a new website and forum, which wouldn't be as hard as a new game, but it would be quite the regrettable move for many users, especially those with great dedication to their title and post count.
And then there's the issue of creating the game itself. Now I've taken a few classes in game design. I semi-successfully made a singleplayer, first person adventure game. It cost about $100 for the design program alone, took an entire summer, was incredibly buggy, and could not be run on any other computer, unless they downloaded the engine I use to make the game. Now, first person adventures are probably the easiest games to make from scratch. Third person, massively multiplayer games with high customization and add-ons would be so incredibly difficult to run smoothly. New models, new maps, coding from scratch to match the new engine, the recurring server issue, animations and so much more. Even the new updated FeralHeart took over 3 years to make, and that's just new maps and animations. Imagine how long it would take with Feralheart's current resources to make a new game from scratch.

tl;dr:
It's definitely not a bad idea to reverse engineer the game, though I'm not sure it would be possible with our current resources.

Still a nice idea though, Crusoe. Floofin' ye.

[Crusoe]

However, this is where the community can come in.
We could have volunteers from the community instead of only depending on the staff. There are plenty of players who can create models and objects. As for the maps, I'm sure that the staff still has the original map files from the new update and they most likely have a tool to decompile fhm files so it could make the mapping much easier.

We could also reuse many assets from the new update like terrain textures to make the development easier.

For the forum, we could have an option to copy/link statistics from their FH account so people can still keep their stats and continue adding on to them.

For the player models/animations, you can always use the original models as a refrence and 'rework' the model.

[Wyldercat]

However, this is where the community can come in.
We could have volunteers from the community instead of only depending on the staff. There are plenty of players who can create models and objects. As for the maps, I'm sure that the staff still has the original map files from the new update and they most likely have a tool to decompile fhm files so it could make the mapping much easier.

We could also reuse many assets from the new update like terrain textures to make the development easier.

For the forum, we could have an option to copy/link statistics from their FH account so people can still keep their stats and continue adding on to them.

For the player models/animations, you can always use the original models as a refrence and 'rework' the model.

These are excellent points, though it's easier said than done. Even if the community assisted, not just everyone can pick up coding or other fundamental game design requirements. There's no telling who'd be trustworthy, or truly up to the task.
Though I'd definitely want to assist if this became possible, many other people may not have the time or effort.

Also, although the update is more of a mod, it's still now technically part of the FeralHeart game, which is still property of KovuLKD, so it may still infringe on copyright.

[Crusoe]

However, the maps were not done by KovuLKD himself. They were done by the staff. From the Credits file itself:

Code: [Select]

-----------------------------------------
Maps & Worlds
-----------------------------------------
Redlinelies
Whitelightheart
LordSuragaha
As for the world textures/GUI:

Code: [Select]

-----------------------------------------
World Textures & GUI work
-----------------------------------------
Delayni (GUI Textures)
Phloxenfree (GUI rework)
Bawfle (Ground Textures)
Starlitewolf (Ground Texture)

Most of the work would have to be just programming (Should be easier after the game's components are reverse engineered), recreating meshes, objects, and animations.
I never said that everyone has to help, but there are definitely people in the community who can help with modeling.

If we wanted to reuse any assets, you could always ask the creators of the original assets for permission.

[Wyldercat]

Fair point. I didn't think to look at the credits.
If this becomes possible, I could possibly assist with some simple coding such as movement or jumping physics.

[Crusoe]

I think we should wait for some more input from others and possibly staff before anyone starts a project like this. However, I do believe that a better collision system would be a very important change

[Wyldercat]

I think we should wait for some more input from others and possibly staff before anyone starts a project like this. However, I do believe that a better collision system would be a very important change

Agreed on both statements. Collisions are quite off, and would be one of the easier fixes if this project could be made possible.

[Crusoe]

Alright. I'll stalk this forum post for now...

[Ruby1234]

It's definitely 100% doable.

Some projects have even been started (some I've even aided), but all of them have either faded out or been shut down.
The reason being that most don't think they'll be able to top Original/Legit FeralHeart in terms of members/community, so why bother?

Another reason is that it seems kind of like a... rude move to take a bunch of assets that aren't yours to remake something. It basically sounds like a "ha, I did it better" to the original creators.
Copyright or not, most people aren't willing to step on the toes of everyone who created FH like that.

From a consumer's standpoint, it seems totally fine to want something like this. I want it too. Like I've said, I've even attempted a few things with some people here and there.
Here's SkyX implemented into FeralHeart:

But from a creator's standpoint, it just doesn't seem like something you'd want to do without the go-ahead from the people who put the original time and effort into something that's brought us all a lot of fun.

TL;DR:
FeralHeart would be EXTREMELY easy to do anything of this sort with.
The problem is that if this were to be done, would it still even be FeralHeart? How would the original creators feel?
There's been little to no input from them, so until then it's out of everyone's hands, UNLESS there is an overwhelming push to proceed forward without the knowledge/consent of the original creators.